10.22.2008

So, today was my first paid experience as a "photographer". Yesterday when I told my small group about it, they remarked that they didn't know I was trying to do this. I didn't really know I was either; it just sort of happened.

My co-worker asked if I'd be interested in doing family portraits for her & I jumped at the opportunity. I offered to do the session for free, but she wouldn't have it. So, thank you, Marisa, for allowing me to spend the afternoon with your beautiful family.

The kiddos were a bit... squirrelly, but we were able to get some good shots.

Here's a taste:

Kallie, looking like a tiny dancer.

Riley's smirk.

Kris & Marisa

I love this picture because it captures exactly how the session went. Marisa smiled and tried to cajole the kids into sitting still and smiling, and Kris chased them after they inevitably squirmed away and ran off.

10.19.2008

For example - I picked up 2 pairs of shorts today because I saw they were only $4.99 each!

And then I got to the register and my TOTAL was $4.22.

Too bad I'll have to wait through 7 months of snow & freezing before I can wear them.

~

In other news - I am practically jumping out of my skin in anticipation of this upcoming weekend; in fact, just earlier today I sang a little jingle of excitement, which caused Doug to look at me in bewilderment and ask, "Did you just sing 'Western New York, here we come'?"

10.14.2008

This is the first night since school started that I haven't had to do any lesson planning or grading! I am [momentarily] caught up!

To celebrate, Doug & I drove to Plymouth Orchards to enjoy the beautiful autumn day.

Upon turning onto this road & seeing the farm, I let out a little cry & bemoaned the fact that Doug hadn't shared this treasure with me sooner. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the closest you'll get to a real farm in Plymouth, MI.

This pic is for Mom...

Amazing homemade cinnamon donuts!

I love fall.

I also cut Doug's hair tonight - or, as he likes to say, we "kept his lettuce tight." Not really sure what that means, but I like it.

I guess it was time. That first picture looks straight up like a mug shot.

10.12.2008

So, relatively recently, Doug & I have discovered that there is something living under our bathtub.

I was the first to discover this freeloader. Let me set the scene.

It was late afternoon/early evening, and Doug & I were both home from work. I decided I needed to do something totally unrelated to school, so I decided to go paint our laundry chute. As I walked into the bathroom and was about to sit on the floor, I heard a loud, distinct Knock. Knock. Knock. - coming from behind our shower curtain.

You know those moments where you swear your heart stopped for a second? Yeah, that'd be one of those. I froze, staring at the bathtub in the mirror, wondering who was in our shower. I turned slowly, and quickly whipped the shower curtain back. Nothing in there. I stared for a moment, not daring to breath, until I heard a brushing noise coming from the wall, at which point I backed out as quickly & silently as possible and ran to the living room to get Doug.

Conversation as follows:

Me, panicked look on face: "Doug. Doug. There is someone or something in our wall behind the tub."

Doug: "What?"

Me: "Please come look at it."

Doug: "Okay."

Me: "... Please take a baseball bat."

Well, a baseball bat wasn't readily available, so Doug just grabbed the closest weapon at hand - a knife that had been left on the counter. I promise I'm not making this up, nor did I steal it from a Lifetime movie.

We head into the bathroom, and of course, there's no noise whatsoever. Doug assures me that it was just "the pipes" - because, as we all know, pipes frequently knock on your walls and brush against them, creating a furry sound.

Anyway, long story short, a couple days later I heard it again, got Doug, and we both heard it. We knocked on the bathtub, and heard a scampering. So, we've been trying to figure out exactly what it is that is under our bathtub. Here is the list we've compiled thus far.

-Chipmunk

-Mouse

-Squirrel

-Black cat we've seen hanging around occasionally

*Note: I've told Doug that anything beyond this point will be cause for us to relocate.

-Raccoon (Pretty sure this is the most likely candidate, although Doug tries to assure me there are NO raccoons in Plymouth. Sorry, but if you've got trash & trees, you've got raccoons.)

10.02.2008

My speech class is preparing to do their demonstration speeches, and many of them have decided to demonstrate how to make some sort of food so they'll be able to enjoy a snack with the class.

Since the speeches have to be 4-5 minutes, I wanted to demonstrate for the class the fact that reading from a recipe is not going to cut it. So I decided to read my mom's exquisite apple pie recipe to the class.

After I was done reading it, there were a few groans of, "That sounds soooo good! Now I'm super hungry." One student asked, "Will you please promise to make one for us?" I smiled, said, "I suppose so," and whipped out this bad boy from behind a poster on my shelf & sent one of my students to go get the vanilla ice cream I purchased to go with it.

Um, the boys in class stood up and clapped when they saw it.

However, last night I heard Doug exclaim, "Hey! Why is there an 'S' on the pie?!"

How do you explain to your husband that the first apple pie of the year isn't for him?

Oops. "It's for my... speech class..."

I did save him a small piece, but I definitely owe him another whole pie...